Electrical connectors of the general type as the one disclosed herein include two members which are secured together with electrical cables located in parallel channels cooperatively formed by the members. One such connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,159 to Frank, Jr. This connector comprises a body member, a cap member and a pin having a head at one end and a knurled portion at the other end. Both members have grooves along each side and apertures therebetween which are normal to the grooves. Further, the aperture in the body member is undersized with respect to the knurled portion and the aperture in the cap member is oversized. Cables are placed on the body member grooves and the cap member placed thereover with the grooves thereon engaging the cables. The pin is then loosely inserted through the aperture in the cap member and forcefully driven into the aperture in the body member to secure to two members together with the cables compressed between the grooves. The knurled portion is bonded to the body member through cold welding so that a high, strong, reliable retention force is provided. The described methods for driving the pin include using an explosive, hydraulic or mechanical tool capable of delivering a high force. While the above described connector provides a reliable electrical connection, the assembly thereof requires a high force so the cold welding can occur. Further, the assembly once made can be disassembled only by destroying the connector. Further, although the laterally extending arms of the cap member will provide some resiliency to accommodate cable creep, the resiliency is in the form of physically deforming the arms. Should the cables be oversized or the material in the cap member not suitable, the elastic limits of the arms can be overcome and their resiliency greatly impaired.
It is now proposed to provide an electrical connector for electrically joining a pair of cables wherein the two members are joined by use of readily available hand tools and can be easily disassembled and reused. Further, the arms of the cap member can be deformed without exceeding the elastic limits thereof so that the resiliency thereof is preserved.